Controllable chiral light generation and vortex field investigation using plasmonic holes revealed by cathodoluminescence

Control of the angular momentum of light is a key technology for next-generation nano-optical devices and optical communications, including quantum communication and encoding. We propose an approach to controllably generate circularly polarized light from a circular hole in a metal film using an electron beam by coherently exciting transition radiation and light scattering from the hole through surface plasmon polaritons. The circularly polarized light generation is confirmed by fully polarimetric four-dimensional cathodoluminescence mapping where angle-resolved spectra are simultaneously obtained. The obtained intensity and Stokes maps show clear interference fringes as well as almost fully circularly polarized light generation with controllable parities by electron beam position. By applying this approach to a metal film with three holes, a vortex field with a phase singularity is visualized in the middle of the holes.